


The Flames of War

by mrescapist



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fix-It, This was supposed to be a crack fic but it all went south real fast, i have no idea what i am doing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-10 23:26:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11702058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrescapist/pseuds/mrescapist
Summary: Before Shisui was ambushed, and Itachi was forced to carry out Danzou’s contingency plan, Hiruzen Sarutobi decides to visit the Uchiha compound.OrIn which Fugaku Uchiha receives an unexpected visit and everything changes.





	1. Time

**Author's Note:**

> This is a plot bunny I had for a long time. When I finally started writing, the idea was for it to be a crack fic, but things didn't turn out as planned.

Of all the matters the Third had the habit of reflecting upon, time was chief among them, right alongside his long list of regrets.

For all his renown as the God of Shinobi, he could barely find time to stretch his legs. Hiruzen’s schedule was often filled with meetings that bored him to tears, reports from missions and Konoha’s spy network, budgets that always seemed sketchy, and a constant heartburn from the stress of the decisions he had to shoulder. He had the lives of thousands of Shinobi and civilians in his hands. Some mistakes could cost the village a squadron, others, could spark a war. Unlike what some believed, of his many abilities, omniscience wasn’t among them. Thus, the fact he made mistakes was hardly a surprise

In fact, there was one mistake from which he could never escape. The Fourth’s portrait hung in his office served as a constant reminder of his shame. Indeed, the greatest failure and regret Hiruzen had was that he still lived. There was not a day in which he, the Third Hokage, God of Shinobi, did not wish he had sacrificed himself to seal the Nine-Tailed Fox in the place of his successor. The Fourth was meant to be leading the village, not him. He was three (almost four) generations too old for the seat he occupied. 

He was a man out of time. Konohagakure no Sato, on the other hand, was a Shinobi in its prime, but armed with an old, rusty and blunt chokuto. In other words, Hiruzen Sarutobi was holding the village back. He was a liability, and he did feel like one. There were promising Shinobi who could one day rise to wear the mantle he begrudgingly held. At the moment, however, they were either too young or too broken for the responsibility; possibly both. 

So, it was with no small amount of trepidation he received reports of growing tension between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan. Hiruzen was not surprised it was Itachi Uchiha who brought the issue to the council. Although young, the boy had a mind far beyond his years, and the ties he had to his own clan were thin.

The relations between the village and the Uchiha had been deteriorating for years now, since the creation of the Konoha Military Police Force by the Second Hokage. The power and influence the Uchiha possessed as founding members of the village begun to wane then. The Military Police Force was time consuming, and required political neutrality. Overnight, the Uchiha no longer had a say on how the village was run. In addition, the prison’s complex forced them to move further away from the rest of the village in order to keep constant surveillance over the prisoners. 

The Shinobi Clans of Konoha and its civilian population had always been in fairly decent terms, even though those who possessed kekkei genkai were often feared and misunderstood. When the Uchiha were pushed away from the daily affairs of the village, that tipped a delicate balance. In Kirigakure, the disturbance of this balance resulted in persecution and to whole clans being wiped out, or forced into hiding. Uzushiogakure had been razed to the ground for fear of the Uzumaki’s fuinjutsu.

In Konoha, that could prove to be the spark of a civil war.

The Uchiha found no honor in being given lands and the duty of carrying out law enforcement against Shinobi. They received little respect or standing for their service as the Konoha Military Police Force. It was the opposite, in fact. They felt alienated from the village, and, as the authority responsible for law enforcement, the village begun to nurture animosity against them. 

Although Hiruzen was loath to admit it, significant blame regarding the escalation of this affair was his, more out of neglect than action. He believed Danzou had taken steps to further kindle unrest and animosity within the Uchiha. Forcing them to remain out of the battle against the Nine-Tailed Fox had been a key factor, but not the first, and certainly not the last.

Here, laid his greatest failure in the dealings with the Uchiha: his lenience with his councilors. They were given too much leeway, and every action they took concerning the clan was taken out of mistrust. The Uchiha compound being put under surveillance after the Nine-Tails incident had been the nail in the coffin, though the clan still remained unaware of this. He had opposed such measures, but did nothing further. 

He was running out of time, and all his attempts at bringing an end to the animosity had so far proved fruitless. 

Hiruzen’s pipe was forgotten mid way to his mouth, as he fixed his gaze upon the village. The Konoha Military Police Force, Danzou, Orochimaru, Minato; it was as though his mistakes and the ones of his masters were being woven together into a climax that could tear the village apart. 

Currently, he suspected Danzou had one contingency plan to prevent civil war: the complete eradication of the Uchiha Clan. Both Koharu and Homura were aligned with him in their believes. Recently, Hiruzen had been made aware of yet another option: Uchiha Shisui’s genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami. The first option he found outrageous, the second, dishonorable. The Uchiha had served the village faithfully for many decades. They deserved autonomy, not manipulation, honor, not mistrust. Yet, he knew they were proud, quickly led to resentment and hatred. 

Once an Uchiha begun to walk down that path, turning away from it was almost impossible. Almost.

He had no idea of when Danzou would give the order, so it was likely he had even less time than he thought. Could he still prevent the inevitable bloodshed? Did he have the means to avert a crisis he neglectfully allowed to brew? It would take more than some ego soothing to discourage the Uchiha from carrying out the coup. He had a few ideas, compromises, but he was dubious any (or all) of them would be enough to dissuade the clan. Unless...

Hiruzen Sarutobi rose suddenly from his chair, his bones creaking as he stretched. He made one handsign, ordering his Anbu to remain where they were. He put on the hat of Hokage, which seemed heavier every morning, and decided he should stretch his legs. That was a luxury he could afford seldom, so he told himself he wasn’t spending time if a walk happened to be essential to attending to Hokage’s business, was he?


	2. Hope

Of all the people Uchiha Fugaku expected to see at his door, Hiruzen Sarutobi was certainly not among them. Fugaku bowed stiffly to the Third.

“Lord Hokage, you honor me with your presence.”

“Your house looks more charming each passing year, Fugaku-dono. Mikoto’s doing, I suppose?” The Hokage lifted his hat just enough for him to have a better look at the building before him.

“Indeed, Mikoto is quite diligent. I am afraid she and Sasuke are not home today, so you will forgive me for our lack of hospitality," Fugaku said. He motioned Hiruzen in, closing the door behind them. “We were not expecting visitors.”

“No apology is required. At any rate, it is my fault to appear at your doorstep unannounced. How is your family?”

“They are all in good health,” Fugaku said curtly.

“I am glad to hear that. How is young Sasuke doing at the academy? He achieved the highest marks among his peers last year, if I remember.”

“He has kept up his academic performance, and has mastered the fire technique that signals the coming of age in the clan.”

Fugaku did his best to remain impassive, but the Hokage’s steely gaze unnerved him. What could the man possibly want? He could not help but wonder if there was more to the casual chatter. Maybe he was overthinking it. Threatening his family was unlike the Third. 

“What do I owe you the honor, Lord Hokage? I find it hard to believe this is a casual visit.” Fugaku would rather get straight to the point. He was not in the mood to indulge the Third’s small talk.

The Hokage lifted his hat, looking at Fugaku as though he was one of his troublesome students. Fugaku struggled to hold his ground. He was not enough of a fool to underestimating Hiruzen Sarutobi, and yet, despite the sudden change in demeanour, Fugaku did not sense any killing intent coming from the man.

“Fugaku,” the Third said. The absence of honorifics did not escape Fugaku’s notice. “I know everything.”

To his credit, Fugaku’s only reaction was to widen his eyes. He opened his mouth to retort, but decided against it. That would be a waste of breath. Try as he may he would not be able to fool the Third. He did his best to remain calm, and keep his breath even. This was not the place to make hasty decisions. The first unknown factor in the situation was the motivations of the Third. What could be gained from an open confrontation? Did the Third wish to coerce the Uchiha into making the first move? An attempt on the life of the Hokage would give the village the perfect cover up to put the whole clan down for good. 

If that was the case, Fugaku nurtured no delusions. Alone, against the Third, he had no chance. If a confrontation was inevitable, even as it would disrupt their plans, all he could do was hope for an opening, and then attack with everything he had.

He was cut short of his musings by the Hokage.

“Before you make any decision, however, I would only ask that you to hear what I have to say.”

* * *

Fugaku fixed his gaze on the stone monument within the Naka Shrine. He waited for the arrival of the clan elders, and eventually, of the rest of his kinsmen; those who held positions of importance, that is. It was fitting that this would be the place in which Fugaku would make the most important of his decisions as head of the Uchiha. The Naka Shrine was, after all, a sacred place for his clan.

He absentmindedly read the inscriptions on the monument, each word long engraved in his mind. 

Even now he was tempted by the hatred that raged in him. The village had taken everything from the Uchiha, their honor, their respect, their power. Indeed, through most of each day, he would savour in that hatred, safe in the knowledge that the might of the Uchiha would bring Konoha to heel. 

His heart yearned for war.

The dreams that visited him at night were far less pleasant. During his sleep, he saw naught but visions of slaughter. Mikoto, Sasuke, and Itachi, all dead at his feet. Every night he heard the voices of his kinsmen, “you failed us”, they would say, watching him from the shadows, eyes red with the Sharingan. 

When sleep had left him, long before the sun rose, he was reluctant to open his eyes. It was hatred that got him out of bed in the morrow, but at night, it could not shield him from his subconscious, from the truth that lurked in the depths of his mind, the truth he and his kinsmen refused to confront. 

There could be no victory for the Uchiha, not through the strength of arms.

The sound of footsteps alerted him to the arrival of the clan elders. Fugaku closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth. The familiar feeling of the stone monument under his hand served as little comfort to his heart that beat painfully against his chest. Did he make the right choice?

* * *

“You cannot be serious,“ Fugaku said, retreating several steps until his back hit the wall. He stared at the Third in disbelief, shaking his head. “You would not, this must be a ploy...”

Fugaku wished to believe this was an impostor, but the chakra he felt surrounding the man in front of him could belong to no one else but the Third. 

“I assure you, Fugaku, there is no ploy,” the old man said in a neutral tone. “There is nothing I could possibly gain by fooling you. If I wanted to catch you off guard, I would have struck against the Uchiha, not made you an offer of peace. From this day on you will be wary, which means that, if Konoha was to attack, it would prove to be a costly fight.”

He did not remember activating his Sharingan, but every word the Hokage said thus far was engraved in his mind. He could not fault the Third’s reasoning, and yet, his instincts told him not to trust him. Hiruzen Sarutobi did not earn the moniker of God of Shinobi by being a lousy leader. The Third had layered his motivations within a web of deceit, which even Fugaku’s Sharingan struggled to see through. At first glance, it would seem the Hokage had allowed his proposal speak for itself. There was no hint of warmth in his tone, nor any attempt of persuasion in his words. The offer he made was tempting in itself.

The Hokage had allowed Fugaku to have a glimpse of hope; a way out in which the blood of his kinsmen would not be shed. He struggled to remain on his feet as realization hit him. Maybe that was what the Third intended all along. The conviction on his cause he had until a few minutes ago faltered. Hiruzen watched impassively as the head of the Uchiha clan slid to the ground, falling on his knees. Fugaku gritted his teeth, lips curling in a bitter smile as he slammed his fists on the ground. 

Perhaps the Third Hokage was far more ruthless than people gave him credit for.

That had to be it, Fugaku thought, narrowing his eyes. The Third had allowed him a moment of hope, so that his end would be all the more bitter when even that was taken from him by the sword. He braced himself to battle, but was surprised to find himself looking at the Hokage again. 

“W-why?” Fugaku said, his Sharingan spinning threatenly. “Why?”

The Third scratched his beard, and his shoulders slumped. He seemed frail, and aged beyond his years. Fugaku’s eyes widened at the sudden display of weakness and vulnerability. The instincts that had kept him alive through the Third Shinobi War urged him to make his move. All of his muscles, honed by decades of battle, tensed in preparation for an attack that never happened. 

There was a small part of him that begged him to listen instead. Against his better judgement, he held his ground.

“There are some people in Konoha who consider me a fool for this stance, but I believe the Uchiha are worthy of this village’s faith,” the Third said, lowering his hat over his eyes with a sad smile. 

“You will be taking a great risk…” Fugaku said, his voice coarse. The energy he found seconds ago vanished as quickly as it came, and he felt frozen in his tracks. That had been his last and only chance to begin, and hopefully finish, what he and his clan had planned; a chance to carry out the coup before it started, even as their plan crumbled around him. He wondered how many would pay with their lives for his inaction. 

“I am willing to take the risk,” the Third said, after a long pause. He took off his hat, looking Fugaku in the eye. “The question is, are you?”

It is said by those versed in lore that, long ago, in the time of the Sage of the Six-Paths, chakra was used not as a weapon, but as a means of understanding, a bridge between people; a way to empathy, even as one came to know the ugliest truths within the other. Or perhaps, especially because of it. The two leaders stared at each other for long, dark eyes against red. In that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Fugaku Uchiha saw the darkest corner of each other, and yet, neither flinched or looked away.

“Then I humbly accept your offer. The Uchiha stand with Konoha,” Fugaku finally said, lowering his head in reverence.


End file.
